Tales of the Traveler
by Electric Velocity
Summary: In the land of the Griffons, a traveling unicorn must find a way to get to Canterlot, a place that has been a myth ever since the Griffons took over the land. He meets some other ponies and journeys farther than anyone from his land has ever gone.


Tales of the Traveler

In the far North-east, past the coast of Manehattan and the ocean, there is a land much different than the Equestria we know. While there are other creatures such as ponies, unicorns, dragons, and many animals, this land is mainly home to the Griffons. Long ago, their quest for control of the land resulted in driving out the pegasi because of their ability to fly like the Griffons. The Griffons took their place in the skies and watched over their land for many years. Down below, the remaining survivors of the great war began civilization again, always weary of the presence in the clouds. Among these survivors were mostly ponies and unicorns. Originally, they had come from Equestria, but after the war with the Griffons, they had all but forgotten their true homeland. Instead, they made their new home among the foothills of mountains and in the dense forests. Life for them was tough, and sometimes short, but somehow they managed to establish several new towns and villages. One of these places was ironically named Griffon Village. It sits between the Murky Forest and Far Fall Mountain. This is where our story of the Traveler begins…

Chapter One: A Bad Start

A light-brown unicorn trotted down the dirt road with a small bag on his shoulder. His mane was a darker brown and his eyes were a deep green color. The sun was going down and Griffon Village was just up ahead. The town was the only "safe" place for miles; especially at night. The pony was quiet and had a look of deep concern and tiredness on his face as he made his way towards the center of town. Even though the darkness of night was coming, the place was as busy as if it were morning. Everywhere there were other ponies about, carrying out their business. A stallion pulling a large wagon full of wood passed by the brown unicorn as he entered the village. He spotted a small inn across from the blacksmith. He adjusted his bag around his shoulder and headed into the inn. "Welcome back, Starchaser." said the mare who owned the inn. She gently waved to him but he didn't reply. He made his way to his room and closed the door slowly before locking it. Turning around with a sigh, he set his things on the floor of his room. A small trinket fell out of his bag. He quickly picked it up and gently set it on the nightstand. It was a noisy inn and the unicorn was very tired. The bright moon shone in his window as he laid down on the straw bed, holding back tears. He rolled over, trying to fall asleep, wishing the sweet embrace of his dreams would comfort him from the horrible day he had experienced.

_Journal entry #279 _

A terrible thing has happened! Oh, how I wish it wasn't so. The wizard with whom I have trained with for years now is gone. He left me his amulet with instructions to take it back to his order in the fabled Canterlot. If such a place exists, I swear I will return the amulet even if it's the last thing I do! I shall begin my journey to the west in the morning.

Starchaser snapped his journal shut and took inventory of his things. Food, check. Fire supplies, check. Map, check. He quickly stuffed the items in his bag along with his journal. "Ah, my telescope!" He remarked, levitating it with his horn and dropping it into the bag. He looked around the room once more before grabbing the amulet and unlocking his door. He walked to the front desk of the inn and said his goodbyes to the keeper. With his bag around his shoulder and a deep breath, he stepped outside. The sky was notably grey and gloomy, but it was like that a lot. The morning air was refreshing however and echoes from the blacksmith's hammer could be heard from behind his store. Starchaser moved towards the middle of the road, eyeing his new direction. He had been moving from place to place for as long as he could remember, but this time it was different. He was going somewhere nopony from this land had ever been.

"OOF!" A voice and a loud thud came from behind the unicorn. He turned around to see a kind of short, grey pony with mud in his face.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." The pony stood up quickly. "How about you?"

Starchaser shrugged and looked back to the horizon. "I guess I'm ok." The shorter pony walked around Starchaser a few times and then stopped in front of him. The mud was dripping off of him and splashing softly on the ground.

"Are you headed somewhere mister?" The grey pony asked.

"Yeah, somewhere far away." He replied.

Extending a hoof, the pony smiled and said, "My name's Ory." Starchaser lightly touched his hoof with Ory's and tried to smile back. Ory wiped the mud off his face and blinked a few times. Starchaser looked ahead, adjusted his strap, and began to walk. Ory instantly matched pace and asked, "So where exactly are you goin"? He started to trot backwards to keep eye contact with Starchaser.

"Why do you need to know? Aren't you supposed to be off doing something?"

"Well, no. Not really. I just saw you standing there and thought you looked like you needed some… company." Rain was just beginning to fall. The sounds of the town were slowly fading as the two ponies walked. Ory resumed normal walking and looked at Starchaser's bag.

"Watcha got in there?"

"Look, I have a big journey ahead of me and what I have is none of your business." Starchaser said with a slightly irritated tone. Ory backed off a bit and was quiet for a few minutes.

As they were walking, Starchaser examined Ory. He looked about two or three years younger than himself. He had really short dark purple hair and a grey coat. He had a joy about him that Starchaser had never seen in another pony. It seemed like every few steps or so Ory would skip or hop a little while quietly humming. The two ponies came up to the edge of the Murky Forest and stopped. Ory looked into it and gulped.

"Never gone this far before…" He said.

"Well, this is where I have to go. Are you sure you want to come with me?" Starchaser asked.

"Oh yeah, sure I do. I just haven't been in the forest much is all." Ory said. "Hey, so what's your name anyway?"

Starchaser took out his map and wrote something on it. "My name is Starchaser."

"Cool! Can I call you Chase?" Ory asked with another smile.

"I guess so." Starchaser replied, not really caring. He levitated the map back into his bag and buttoned it shut. The rain was now coming down pretty hard so the two stepped into the forest.

"The trees will block some of the rain at least." Starchaser said as they plunged deeper into the dim and creepy woods. The sound of their own hooves snapping twigs was nerve-racking already. Some birds were calling out in the distance and the smell of tree sap was strong.

"It's pretty chilly in here." Ory said with a shudder.

"I know, all that cold air stays trapped in here." Chase stated.

During this time of year, the weather was always cold and gloomy, but for some reason it seemed colder and definitely more depressing in the forest. Ory was breathing heavily and he could begin to see his breath in front of him. The air was grabbing at their skin the more they walked. Suddenly, a very loud scream came from behind Starchaser. As he turned around in shock, he saw it was only Ory, who was on his hind legs and about to fall over. Just as Chase was about to turn back around, he saw a large shadow move away from Ory.

"Sorry, I thought something touched me!" Ory said with a shaky voice. Starchaser resumed walking.

"Watch out for water pools. Some are very deep and dangerous." The unicorn warned. Ory looked around for anything resembling a puddle and started to walk at a slower pace. They walked for what seemed like ages while hearing all sorts of strange animals and the drizzling of the rain in the leaves.

"How much further do we have to go, Chase?" Ory asked.

Chase cleared his throat. "We'll be out of here soon. I've been through here a few times."

"Well that's good to know." Ory said with a laugh. "Hey, do you know any um, spells? Like ones that can help us?" Ory hopped a little probably out of optimism.

"None that could provide serious protection." Starchaser said with hesitation. He thought about how he would probably never learn any more from his teacher. His horn started to glow green and a small bright light appeared in front of them.

"Ooh! That's neat!" Ory said.

"It's just a light." Chase replied.

The illumination was hardly enough to light up their path. Fog and branches surrounded them and was so thick that they could only walk a few feet without stopping to look ahead. Ory kept brushing against the branches and stepping on twigs which made Starchaser even more anxious. The air was now moving slightly.

"Do you hear that?" Ory looked behind himself. The wind was picking up. The birds stopped chirping and all of the trees seemed to bend back as if they were being repelled by the ponies. They had made it to a small clearing where the cloudy sky could be seen above and the rain was coming through. Starchaser turned off his magic light and stood in the middle of the clearing. A sound was coming from somewhere distant. It was like the grinding of a windmill or the loud crackling of fire. Then, right in front of the light brown unicorn, a massive flash of light sprung from out of nowhere. Thunder crashed in the sky and the light faded.

"How did- What _was_ that?" Ory yelled.

They looked around them at the impossibility. All of the trees were different. They weren't tall and thick. The trunks were of a different kind. This was a completely different forest. Up ahead Starchaser could see light. He ran towards it to find a hollowed out tree with masks hanging from it. A voice was coming from inside. Ory caught up to Chase and peeked inside the window of the tree.

"How could someone live here?" He whispered. In the window there were more masks and strange looking pots hanging from the ceiling of the room. A chant of some sort was being sung. Starchaser decided to see who was inside the hut. He walked over to the door and knocked three times. The voice stopped.

"What are you doing?" Ory said with a louder voice.

"We have to see where that light came from. Maybe whoever's in there know something." Chase said.

The door opened slowly to reveal a strange pony. She was black and white with a weird looking mohawk. She wore gold jewelry and looked surprised. She sighed with a bothered look.

"I was just about to finish my stew. Now tell me, who are you?"

Ory giggled a little at the rhyme. The black and white pony looked at him with squinted eyes.

"I, uh… My name's Starchaser." Chase said putting a hoof up to his chest. "And that's Ory."

"You seem to be filled with fear. Is that why you are here?" The strange pony asked.

"No, well… kind of. We saw a light and then we appeared here. Do you know anything about this forest?" Starchaser said still trying to figure out who or what he was talking to. Her eyes lit up and she smiled.

"You mean the Everfree? Well, I live here as you can see." She gestured them inside and stood by her large kettle. It was bubbling with a brown liquid that smelled very good.

"Zecora is my name, you should know. And I think I may have caused the portal to show." She dropped some ingredients in her pot.

"_Portal? Everfree?_ What are you talking about?" Ory asked, very confused. Zecora began to stir her kettle and hummed some words.

"Are you saying we went through a portal into another forest?" Starchaser inquired. Zecora nodded.

"For long I have thought our two worlds were connected. I began making a magic bridge to cross, but it worked faster than I expected." She stopped stirring and moved to a cupboard.

"Where are we exactly? What domain?" Chase moved closer to Zecora. Ory was looking at one of the strange masks. He touched it with his hoof and it fell. He stepped back and awkwardly grinned. Zecora glanced at him and resumed digging through her cabinet.

"This land is ruled by our Princess Celestia. Have you ever heard of a place called Equestria?"

"Yes, in legends. I was told the pegasi moved here and that this is where Canterlot is!" Starchaser exclaimed. Ory jumped up.

"Wait, is that good?" He asked.

Starchaser smiled. "Yes, this is the place I was trying to find. Well, not exactly, but it's close enough. Tell me Zecora, how far away is Canterlot?"

Zecora sighed. "It is too far away from here to simply walk, and time is wasting as we talk."

"What do you mean?" Ory asked.

"The portal I conjured has a limited effect. You are out of place, and will soon reconnect." She dropped another item into her pot and smoke came from it.

"So we have to go back?" Starchaser was suddenly disappointed.

"I am sorry, far dwellers, please take this. It will protect you, but don't miss." She picked up a bottle and dipped it into the pot. It filled with the brown liquid and she gave it to Starchaser. He put it in his bag.

"I guess this proves Equestria is real..." Chase whispered.

"I truly wish you two could stay. But it seems there is no other way." Zecora guided them out of her hut and stood in the doorway. "I wish you a safe journey back to this land. Use what I gave you only as a final stand."

Suddenly, the same noise from before started to echo in the distance. This time it came from behind Starchaser and Ory. They took one last look at Zecora and the light engulfed them. In a second, they were back in the clearing of the Murky Forest. The rain instantly hit their heads. Starchaser now had some hope that the land of legends was real. Canterlot was still far away, but it felt just a little bit closer to him. Ory started walking towards a tree to get out of the rain, but he tripped and fell.

"Ohh, I'm dizzy…" He slurred. Starchaser felt a little dizzy too.

"It must be the effects of going through the portal." He said. Ory got up slowly and shook his head.

"So you're headed for Canterlot? I've heard of that place before." They both moved to a dry spot and Chase took out his map. He wrote something else on it. Ory tried to peek at it, but Chase moved it away and closed it.

"What is that?" Ory asked.

"It's a map of the places I've been." Chase set down and leaned against a tree.

"It's a lot bigger than some of the maps I've seen." Ory sat next to Starchaser. "Have you been to Far Fall Mountain?"

"Yeah. It wasn't that far." He chuckled. Ory blinked and then laughed with him.

The temperature of the air was now a bit warmer. It was mid-day and the rain was about to stop.

"Come on." Starchaser said, clearing his voice. "Let's get out of this forest." He got up and put his map back. They walked for only a few minutes before finding the exit. The path they were on eventually led them to another town similar to Griffon Village.

"We're gonna stay for the night?" Ory asked.

"Yes. After what happened, I need some time to think." Starchaser decided to go look for a place to stay. He looked around for an inn or a cottage that would likely accept them. Ory walked on ahead into town.

"I'm gonna go look around. See you in a bit!" He yelled back.

Starchaser nodded and walked to the nearest house. Today had been more than he could have dreamed. The only thing was, he wasn't sure if he should be hopeful about his quest, or scared. Maybe he would be surer of himself tomorrow. Until then, he would just have to rest and get ready for any other crazy things to happen.


End file.
